


Hero or Rogue?

by Persiflage



Series: Skoulson RomFest 2k16 Redux [7]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Future Fic, Inhumans (Marvel), Inspired by a Movie, Mentions of Daisy & Mack Friendship, Motorcycles, Older Man/Younger Woman, On the Run, POV Skye | Daisy Johnson, Safehouses, Sharing Clothes, Skoulson RomFest 2k16 REDUX, Skye | Daisy Johnson's Superpowers, Watchdogs (Marvel), quake - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:26:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daisy discovers some humans who aren't afraid of Quake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hero or Rogue?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zauberer_sirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts).



> More '6 Months Later' fic, again written for the Skoulson RomFest 2k16 Redux, for the Day 6 prompt 'Hero or Rogue'.
> 
> Yes, I freely admit the scene where Daisy's 'saved' by the humans is lifted straight from Spiderman 2.

Daisy can feel her strength and energy fading out as she does her best to hold off, or better yet, stop the semi truck that's racing down the street towards her and the group of people who are gathered behind her. 

There's a brute of a Watchdog driving the truck, and she suspects that where one Watchdog goes, more of the pack will follow. She doesn't know what the Watchdogs have got against these people – so far as she's been able to establish, there are no Inhumans among them – but she hasn't had a chance to chat, only to assess the situation, and try to deal with it.

Even as her strength starts to fade out, Daisy increases the power of the vibrations she's directing at the truck – knowing that she's risking a collapse that could take her hours, or even days, from which to recover if she does drain herself – and it's as she's on the point of blacking out, and with the truck only a few metres distant, that the engine finally vibrates to a standstill, causing the driver to lose control so that the truck starts to slew sideways across the street.

Daisy would tell the people behind her to get back, but she's not sure she can speak, or do anything, right now – there's a persistent grey fog at the edges of her vision. She feels her body starting to fall, but then arms and hands are reaching out to hold her up, and to her surprise she feels herself being carefully lifted up into the air, then moved backwards over people's heads. They're gentle, but speedy, moving her and themselves, out of the way of the still moving truck. It's a bit of a weird sensation for Daisy, and because she's feeling so lightheaded, it's almost as if she's floating on her back along the street. 

Eventually she's lowered down and finds herself in the back of someone's station wagon, being wrapped in a tartan blanket.

"What do you need?" asks a grey-haired, motherly-looking woman anxiously.

"Food," Daisy croaks out. "For energy." 

The people around her begin digging into pockets and bags, and within moments there's an amazing array of candy, sandwiches, wraps, fruit, and bottles of water and soda lined up for her.

"Feed yourself up, child," says the grey-haired woman. "Looks like you need it."

Daisy, struggling to unwrap an unhealthy, but very sugary, snack nods, and the woman takes it from her, gets the wrapper open, then passes it back.

"Thanks," Daisy croaks, and begins to eat, trying not to appear too greedy, but absolutely desperate for fuel.

The woman gives her a nod, then stands up, turns her back, and begins an urgent-sounding, low-voiced conversation with two other women and a teenage boy.

By the time the woman, whom Daisy is beginning to think is this group's leader, official or otherwise, crouches back down to talk to her again, Daisy's already eaten the snack, two ham and salad sandwiches, and is half way through a large candy bar.

"That's not going to be enough, is it?" asks the woman, and Daisy feels a stab of guilt, which she swallows along with the rest of the candy. 

"I can pay everyone back," she begins.

"Child, that's not what I meant," says the woman, then she asks, "You have a name, besides them calling you 'Quake'?"

She swallows again, then nods. "Daisy."

The woman nods back. "Pretty name for a pretty girl," she says, then holds out a hand. "Mara."

"Thank you for your help, Mara," Daisy says as she shakes hands. "And to answer your earlier question, no – this isn't going to be enough. This food will get me back on my feet, but I need more fuel and rest to recover the use of my powers in full."

Mara nods, as if this is the answer she is expecting. "Then let's get you – and us – off the street and somewhere safe where you can rest up and eat."

"Why are you helping me?" Daisy asks, unable not to ask since these people are risking their lives in offering her their assistance.

"You're a hero," Mara says simply. "And this world needs heroes."

This is enough to leave Daisy fighting against tears – no one else seems to regard Quake as a hero – she's 'the rogue Inhuman' or 'the terrifyingly powerful Quake' according to the media reports. And yeah, she understands that her powers can seem terrifying to outsiders, but she'd have thought people would have noticed by now that she only uses her powers against the bad guys – even when she took down that bank in LA no one was injured.

Within a few minutes Mara climbs into the back of the station wagon with Daisy, who's still eating, while the teenage boy and one of the two women whom Daisy had seen talking to Mara before, climb into the front seats.

"This is Andy and his older sister, Ebony," Mara tells her, then gives Andy a nod, and he pulls away.

"Don't worry about a thing, Daisy, we're taking you somewhere safe," Mara tells her before she can even ask.

Daisy just nods, and swallows more water. She knows she needs to refuel as fast as she can since she doesn't know how soon she'll need to use her powers again. She hopes it won't be too soon.

Before long, Andy pulled up outside a brownstone that looks like it's been condemned, and she's not sure what her expression is like when she sees the boarded up windows, and the general air of decay that go with them, but it must be eloquent of her dismay, because Mara chuckles, then pats her arm.

"Don't worry, child," she says. "It may not look pretty, but as you know, looks can be deceiving."

Daisy gives a nod, then allows her to help her out of the car since she's still too shaky to trust her legs to hold her up unsupported.

Mara leads her inside, with Andy preceding them, his manner intent and watchful, and Ebony bringing up the rear. Once inside the brownstone it becomes clear that whatever the exterior might look like, the interior is in good condition. 

The four of them pile into an elevator which shoots them up four floors without giving any hint that it might not be up to the task. Daisy is guided out of the elevator into a clean hallway that's clearly been repainted recently because there's still a lingering smell of fresh paint in the air.

She stumbles a bit as they head down the hall, and Mara tightens her hold on Daisy's arm, keeping her on her feet.

"We're nearly there," the old woman tells her in a comforting tone, and Daisy nods, afraid that if she opens her mouth to speak, she'll start yawning and be unable to stop.

She's led into a pleasantly furnished apartment, through which Mara guides her straight to the master bedroom. She helps Daisy out of her coat and boots before telling her to sleep as long as she needs.

"There's going to be at least two of us on guard in the sitting room while you're here," Mara tells her. "So sleep easy, if you can."

"Thanks," Daisy murmurs.

"And if you get hungry again, come through and we'll feed you."

"Thank you."

Mara goes out and Daisy, who's still puzzled about this group with whom she's fallen in, but is too tired to think further about them, falls instantly into a deep sleep.

DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ

Daisy spends the next 24 hours alternating between sleeping for hours at a time, and eating until she's ready to sleep again. The people in the kitchen and the sitting room seem to be an ever-changing group, although Daisy does eventually wake up sufficiently to realise that either Mara or Ebony is always there when she does venture out of her room to eat or use the bathroom.

She's sitting in the kitchen eating a second pizza when she hears a scuffle out in the hallway, and she's across the apartment and out of the door before anyone can even think to stop her.

What she sees stops her dead in disbelief. "Phil?"

He aims a half smile at her, unable to actually speak since Andy, who’s a good foot taller than Coulson, and a lot heavier too, has him in a choke hold.

"It's okay, Andy. It's okay," she tells him urgently. "This is a friend of mine. He's not going to hurt me."

Andy releases his grip on Coulson's throat, and the latter massages his neck with a rueful expression as Daisy hurries up to him.

"Are you okay?" she asks, gently pulling his hand away in order to massage his throat herself.

"Daisy," he croaks, and she bites back a sob, then throws her arms around him. He's badly in need of a shave, and looks dishevelled in a way that implies it's not just Andy's attentions that have left him looking so scruffy. Additionally, Phil's face has a hollow look to it, which makes her wonder if he's been eating properly.

"Daisy." He sounds like she feels, she thinks – on the verge of breaking down and crying, an impression that's heightened by the way he's clinging to her, just as she is to him.

"Come on, Phil," she says, trying for a cheeriness she doesn't really feel. "Come inside and tell me what you're doing here. I take it you're alone?"

"Yeah," he agrees, and unwraps his arms and lets her lead him back into the apartment.

"Mara, Ebony, this is my friend, Phil." She introduces them without letting go of Coulson's left hand. "We used to work together," she adds when they both give her a sceptical look.

The four of them settle around the kitchen table (Andy's gone back to patrolling the streets), and Mara makes them coffee all round. Daisy offers Coulson some of her pizza, and he falls on it eagerly, then tells them, between bites, about the Fox News report that had brought him to New York in search of Daisy.

She groans when she hears that her dramatic rescue of Mara's group had made the national news – she'd intended to hack any local news stations that might have picked it up, in order to delete the footage, but she's been so busy recovering from using her powers so profligately that she hadn't done anything about it.

"I can't stay here," Daisy tells her new friends. "The ATCU will be after me, and I don't know what they'll do if they find out you guys have aided me." 

When Ebony starts to protest, Daisy cuts her off. "Ebony, I can't risk putting you all in danger again." She turns to Coulson. "Mara and her group are running the equivalent of the Inhuman Underground Railway," she tells him, then nods at his look of astonishment. "Mara's daughter and Ebony's cousin both went through Terrigenesis shortly before the Sokovia Accords hit the statute books. These two managed to get them to safety, and since then they've been helping Inhumans to flee from the Government. I can't risk undoing all their hard work by remaining here."

Coulson nods. "I can get you away from here," he says. "There's a safehouse – no one else in our group knows of its existence so you can finish your recovery there."

Daisy considers for a moment, then nods, before making her farewells. She insists on leaving money with Mara for the group to use as they see fit to continue their work.

20 minutes later, Daisy leads Coulson through the back streets to where she left her own transport and kit when she arrived in the city a little over 48 hours ago. He looks amazed when he sees the metallic blue motorbike. "Is that – " he begins, then shakes his head.

"I liberated it from a scrapyard," she tells him. "There wasn't much wrong with it that someone who'd spent a year hanging out with Mack couldn't fix."

He chuckles, then looks surprised at himself.

"What transport do you have?" she asks.

"I flew in," he says, "then took a cab over to where you were when you stopped the semi truck."

She gives a nod. "I'll be back in 10," she tells him, and he opens his mouth as if to say he'll come with her, but he shuts it again, words unspoken, and nods. "It's okay, Phil, I'm not going to run out on you again now." She's not sure why, but she leans in and presses her lips lightly to his cheek. "I promise."

His expression is one she'd label 'startled baby deer', she thinks with amusement as she hurries away, and when she returns less than 10 minutes later with a dufflebag hooked over her shoulder, he's still looking bemused.

She holds out her spare crash helmet, then they get on the bike. "Which way are we heading?" she asks, and he tells her east, so she turns the bike around and sets off.

After a couple of hours, Daisy needs to sleep again, so Coulson swaps places with her, and she wraps her arms around his middle, puts her cheek against his back, and falls asleep despite the uncomfortable position.

When she wakes a few hours later it's fully dark, and Coulson is pulling the bike into a gas station. She groans quietly and climbs stiffly down off the bike.

Coulson grabs her arm to steady her, and after he's filled up the tank, they head inside to grab snacks and bad coffee. They drink the coffee quickly, and Daisy laughs softly at his disgusted expression – she'd bet money that Coulson's missing his coffee maker back at the Playground.

They both visit the bathroom, then set off again, and Daisy rides pillion a second time because the bad coffee hasn't helped that much with her general grogginess.

It's about 15 hours later that Coulson brings the bike to a halt for the final time, and she rouses herself from her half-asleep stupor long enough to climb off the bike, although she stumbles when cramp assaults her calves. Coulson helps her to hobble into the house, then startles her when he picks her up and carries her bodily up the narrow staircase to the master bedroom.

"Phil," she says in protest.

"Daisy, it's okay."

She sighs but doesn't offer any further protest. The fact that she feels safe in his arms is not enough of an excuse, she feels, to let him carry her, but she'll admit to herself, if not to him, that she is still horribly exhausted from using up her powers the other day.

He sets her down on the bed, tells her that the room has an ensuite bathroom, and that he'll be in the room next door, then he leaves her to her own devices.

She gets to her feet, a little unsteadily, then moves into the bathroom. She's desperate for a shower, but isn't sure she has the energy to take one right now, so she just washes her hands and face, cleans her teeth, then changes out of her clothes for the tank, sweater, and sweatpants she wears in bed. 10 minutes later she's out like a light, and she sleeps for several hours until a nightmare wakes her with a scream on her lips.

Coulson comes rushing into the room, ICER in hand, and finds her beginning to sob as she wakes up properly and realises it was a nightmare.

"Daisy, Daisy." He sets the ICER down on the nightstand, then sits on the edge of the bed and pulls her into his arms, holding her and rocking her as she tries to calm herself.

Eventually she manages to stop crying, and when she pulls back from Coulson, she sees that he's got a large wet spot on his left shoulder.

"You should change your t-shirt," she tells him. "You don't want to catch a chill from sleeping in wet clothes."

"I don't have another t-shirt with me," he tells her, looking awkward.

"Borrow one of mine," she says, and picks up her dufflebag from the floor where she'd left it before sleeping. She fishes out a black t-shirt and he takes it from her with a murmur of thanks.

He seems to feel awkward about changing it in front of her, so she closes her eyes while he strips off his old grey SHIELD-issue t-shirt and swaps it for Daisy's spare.

"Could you stay with me for a bit, please?" she asks, feeling a bit awkward herself for asking this favour.

"Of course." Coulson's prompt reply makes her feel better, and they settle on the bed, spooning up so that Daisy's back is against his chest. His vibrations are soothing and she feels herself slipping back into sleep quite easily.

She wakes a few hours later feeling ravenously hungry, and more than a little aroused. The latter is a surprise, until she realises that Coulson's also aroused, judging by how hard his cock is as it's pressed against her ass.

She tells herself that it doesn't mean anything – she knows only too well that plenty of men get an erection in the night, even when they're not sharing a bed with someone. She lies very still, listening to his breathing and concentrating on his vibrations.

She's just wondering if she can slip out of bed to forage for some food without disturbing him (she suspects she can't, because his arms are still wrapped tightly around her torso), when he mutters her name, then shifts against her, and she has to bite back a moan when he starts grinding his erection against her ass. His right hand slips up under her sweater and tank to brush against her breasts, and her nipples immediately grow stiff. His left hand, meanwhile, has insinuated itself between her thighs (outside her sweatpants), and she can barely suppress a moan – his touch seems to set her nerve endings on fire, and she feels a strong surge of desire rushing through her body.

She shifts in his arms, manoeuvring rather awkwardly until she's lying on her side facing him. "Phil," she calls, not really sure if she wants him to wake up or not.

"Daisy?" His voice is soft and raspy from sleep, and he opens his eyes slowly, a stupidly sexy smirk creeping onto his face as he catches sight of her watching him. "Morning."

"Morning," she responds automatically, then leans in and kisses him, briefly and softly, but very intentionally, on the mouth.

He tightens his arms around her, then his left hand is sliding down her back to cup her ass, while his right moves to hold the back of her head as he returns her kiss, all soft and languid.

She's half expecting him to abruptly pull away, to scramble from the bed in horror, because she's half-convinced he's not fully awake yet, but he doesn't. He kisses her again, then slips his left hand inside her sweatpants and he begins to stroke the tips of two fingers up and down her slit.

"Fuck, Phil," she gasps, then moans when he pushes his fingers into her slick heat. She comes hard and fast, her moans swallowed by his mouth on hers.

"I want you, Daisy," he whispers, and she groans, then sprawls backwards on the bed, very obviously surrendering herself to him so he can have her.

He peels off his sweatpants, and she moans again when she sees how big he is, then he's tugging her sweatpants off, before he settles over her and begins to push his cock into her wet sex. He fucks her slowly, gradually building her up to an orgasm, and she comes twice before she senses he's close himself.

"I should – " he begins, starting to withdraw, because neither of them has a condom.

"It's okay, Phil," she says. "I'm still covered." She tightens her arms and legs around him, then bites down on his bottom lip, and he comes with a cry of surprise, which triggers another orgasm for her as well.

He rolls over so that he's on his back, rather than slumped on top of her, and she kisses him, quick and hard before lifting herself off him. He groans when his cock slips from her body.

"Sorry, bathroom," she tells him, and he nods as she moves away.

When she returns, she gives him a thoughtful look as she climbs back onto the bed. "That was very nice, Phil, but very unexpected."

He looks a little abashed. "It's rubbish timing," he says, and she chuckles.

"Your timing could've been better," she agrees. "So why?"

"I've wanted this for a long time," he says, "although I tried to tell myself otherwise. This morning when you kissed me, I decided I wanted to do something about it, and you seemed amenable."

"Your timing may not be the best," she says, "starting this when I'm pretty much on the run, and Enemy #1, but I'm not going to regret doing this with you." She leans in and kisses him, pressing her body against his. "I've wanted to do this for a long time, too, Phil."

He slides his hand down her back, then up again to cup the nape of her neck as he leans in and kisses her. "Maybe we can meet up occasionally?" he suggests, sounding half doubtful, half hopeful.

"I think we should," she says. She sits up, then tugs him upright too. "Right now, though, I need to eat, unless you want me to pass out?"

He chuckles. "No, I think we'll skip that bit." 

They pull on their sweatpants, then make their way downstairs, and Daisy decides that lousy timing or not (it's awful timing), what's just happened is the best thing that's ever happened to her.


End file.
